Yahoo Finance·2026-03-14 18:31Group 1 - Applied Materials Inc. announced strategic partnerships with Micron Technology and SK Hynix to develop next-gen memory chips essential for AI and HPC, involving a $5 billion investment in semiconductor equipment R&D [1][2] - The partnership with Micron will focus on advancing DRAM, HBM, and NAND, while the collaboration with SK Hynix will concentrate on materials improvement, process integration, and 3D advanced packaging for next-gen DRAM and HBM [2] - The EPIC Center, expected to come online in 2026, aims to keep pace with the rapid build-out of AI infrastructure by integrating expertise from leading memory producers [3] Group 2 - Applied Materials provides materials engineering solutions, equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor and related industries across various regions including the US, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe [4]